Editor’s note: Look at Tuesday’s story on District 4 candidates.
Pastor Warren Stewart and Kate Gallego are competing to become the next representative for Phoenix City Council District 8. Residents will vote in a runoff election on Nov. 5.
Pastor Warren Stewart
During the original City Council race, gay-rights activists characterized Pastor Warren Stewart, a Baptist preacher, as anti-gay because Stewart said he opposed the legalization of gay marriage.
“I believe that marriage is a foundational institution of the family that cannot be changed,” Stewart said. “It’s as simple as that. I believe that fundamentally, marriage is between a man and a woman.”
However, Stewart supports civil unions and said he would vote in favor of a resolution like Bisbee’s ordinance — which allows civil unions for same-sex couples — should it be introduced on the council floor. Stewart said he would also champion LGBT causes related to civic equality, such as equal benefits access and employment.
Stewart said his faith shaped his dual view.
“I believe every human being is created in the image and likeness of God,” Stewart said. “I am pro-human being.”
The pastor said his faith has an influence on his political stance, but no more than political party or other outside factors shape any other person’s views.
Karl Gentles, Stewart’s campaign manager, has worked on city campaigns for more than 20 years.
“Taking someone with the 35 years of experience that Warren has as a pastor in the community and converting that experience into the political arena has been interesting,” Gentles said.
Gentles also said Stewart’s experience “in the trenches” makes him a strong candidate.
Stewart took up the cause of immigration reform, which he said he feels brought back a Civil Rights-era activist spirit. Both movements carried a fundamental notion of equality.
“It is a fundamental justice issue dealing with color, dealing with culture, dealing with race, dealing with the economy, dealing with faith,” Stewart said.
Stewart said he plans to collaborate with businesses and unions for what he calls neighborhood empowerment, an initiative that will focus on development of elementary and secondary education and on social assistance networks. He said he hopes to develop a support system for students, including institutes where students can get tutoring, and believes in motivating corporate investment in education instead of sports arenas.
Stewart said he wants to ensure public schools are producing students who can succeed. Social assistance would follow the same pattern.
“There are a lot of people who haven’t had the breaks or the advantages or the opportunities that a large number of people have,” Stewart said. “It is one of my responsibilities to reach back and help those who need a helping hand like I did when I was down and out.”
Stewart’s campaign centers on community and finding commonalities that supersede existing differences.
“The injustices of the past have in many ways all been changed when the people whose lives were affected daily came together and saw that they had more in common than not in common, and said, ‘Let’s join together to change this,'” Stewart said.
The run-off opponents differ on a major urban policy point. Stewart dismisses the heat island effect as inevitable. Urban planning measures, including sprawl restraint and shade creation, would likely prove insufficient, Stewart said.
“You can’t put a cover over downtown from June to the first of October,” Stewart said.
Kate Gallego
Candidate Kate Gallego said she would, if elected, focus on civic services, education, housing and crime prevention to provide increased opportunities for the community.
“I’m trying to make sure people have the opportunities to succeed: good jobs, good ways to get to work, clean air, safe places to live,” Gallego said.
Gallego said she would like to see an end to the hiring freeze at the police department. Crime prevention would not, however, just mean more officers. Her plan calls for an enhancement of the strategy known as broken windows policing, where police prosecute low level offenders as a preventive strategy. The theory holds that small crime such as graffiti, loitering and others will lead to increased rates of mid- and high- level crimes if not dealt with seriously.
In some cases, broken windows policing includes the prosecution of the homeless in an effort to clean up the streets. According to Gallego, the motivation is humanitarian.
“The main reason to try and reduce homelessness is not to prevent more crime, it’s because people deserve safe housing,” Gallego said.
Gallego said she would expand housing initiatives for the homeless, with an eye towards assisting homeless veterans. With this in mind, she also supports expanding programs that provide transportation to impoverished veterans.
Joseph Czajkowski, Gallego’s campaign manager, said that while all the candidates he’s worked with brought passion, many looked beyond the position they were running for. Gallego’s focus on matters within the council’s sphere influence is what drew him to the campaign from the start.
“I’ve worked on other campaigns and those candidates were all big picture people … Kate Gallego wants to be a City Council person. She’s passionate about city policy and city issues and she’s passionate about the work she’s trying to get elected to do.”
In education, Gallego backs the expansion and funding of STEAM programs — an acronym for science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. This, combined with an emphasis on experiential learning, would aim to create a competitive workforce to keep businesses in — and attract businesses to — Phoenix.
Adaptive reuse, a program which repurposes existing buildings, should receive additional funding, Gallego said. She said she would also like to see the use of zoning to encourage entrepreneurs.
“We should support entrepreneurs and make it easy for them,” Gallego said. “Right now in Phoenix it’s easier to build on a green field than it is to take an existing building and preserve our history and make something neat out of it.”
Gallego supports marriage equality, and said a City Council vote to approve same-sex civil unions would be a step forward. Globally competitive cities must value equality, she said. Bisbee approved such a resolution last year.
“It’s a civil rights issue, as well,” Gallego said. “We need to make sure that we, as a city, do not discriminate against anyone based on race, religion, sexual orientation.”
Gallego has proposed solutions to the heat island effect. The elimination of vacant land and subsequent reduction of sprawl would help minimize the effect. Gallego said the effort would be particularly successful if accompanied by other changes, including the incorporation of plants in tree-and-shade programs, construction of green buildings and better bus shelters, establishment of green building codes, an improved public transportation system, a more walkable urban design and use of improved paint and paving materials that retain less heat.
“As a former chair of the Environmental Quality Commission, I think there’s a lot the City Council can do to reduce the heat island effect,” Gallego said.
Gallego said she does not plan to raise taxes or levy any new ones. Instead, she said she would fund her projects by the sale of vacant, city-owned lots and by defunding non-essential programs.
“A personal favorite of mine is we have someone who censors all the bus advertisements,” Gallego said. “We had someone who got offended by how short the Stingray Sushi girl’s skirt was and I don’t know that that’s an essential thing to do for the city of Phoenix while we’re short on police officers.”
Contact the reporter at noah.b.briggs@asu.edu
